


there wasn't the time

by cassandor



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: (poor Bodhi), AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Alternate Universe - World War I, Bodhi Rook Needs a Hug, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Human K-2SO, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Minor Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus, Wonder Woman AU, local rebelcap shipper who knows little about DC or WW1, stories about spy captains and the loves of their lives, the only person who's OOC is Draven but none of us like him anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-13 17:35:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11190009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandor/pseuds/cassandor
Summary: Wonder Woman x Rogue One Rebelcaptain AU.Title from the R1 novelization.





	1. hearts of kyber...

Jyn stands at her favourite spot, atop the rocks that rise above the water like a throne. She gazes at the sky, wondering when the future would finally beckon for her to join it.

A ship streaks across the atmosphere like a knife through black sand, leaving behind a smoky white trail through the otherwise perfectly clear sky. It plunges into the water, sending ripples across the water that reach her throne as waves. The ship sinks to its tomb, pulled to Lah’mu’s aquatic lap by gravity.

She takes this as her calling, and dives right in.

* * *

Cassian kneels before these women, a robed lady whose stiff posture rivals any royalty he’d ever seen, and her daughter who watches him curiously, water dripping from the ends of his hair and running down his chin, eventually pooling at his feet.

“I’m-” he gasps, and the snake-like thing tightens around him, burning away the barriers that held his tongue. “I’m a _spy_. For the Allies - the Alliance.”

He tells them of the great war, and he tells them he knows the way to stop it.

“That book – it contains the plans for some…” he struggles against the bonds, to no avail. “…superweapon that they’re creating. Under Director Krennic’s supervision. I need to get this back to my… superiors. Before it’s too late. Before millions more die.” He draws in a shaky breath. “Trust me.”

The girl’s eyes flicker to her mother.

* * *

Jyn stares at the man, the foreign weight of her aunt’s necklace tugging at her neck.

“I’ve spent my entire life training,” she starts to say. “For a war that we always ran away from. The flag in the sky above us did not matter, for we never looked up. But…”

Cassian swallows, hard. “But…?”

“You have made me look up. And I don’t like what I’m seeing. So I’m coming with you.” She wets her lips, hanging the truncheon at her side. “Trust me,” she adds.

“Trust goes both ways.”

* * *

“You are my greatest joy,” Lyra says, gently caressing Jyn’s cheek. Her eyes are filled with a love and a loss as old as time. “And today, you are my greatest sorrow.”

Jyn raises her hand to her mother’s and grasps it firmly, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

Cassian watches on.

* * *

“And this is Kaytoo,” Cassian introduces the impossibly tall and wiry gentleman to Jyn. “He’s my… assistant.”

“Assistant? What does that mean?”

“Well,” Kaytoo begins. “I do whatever he tells me to. Perform calculations, risk assessment, formulate strategies…”

“That sounds like slavery to me,” Jyn remarks. “Or something a robot of some sort should do.”

“I don’t like her,” Kaytoo turns to Cassian. “Just so you know.”

“I know,” Cassian sighs.

“And who gave her that gun? That’s dangerous!”

Cassian glances at Jyn.

“What? I need to be able to defend myself. This is a warzone!”

* * *

They’re cornered by German spies. Cassian picks off a few of them but they’re _everywhere_.

“Jyn, watch out!” he exclaims, then turns to check on her.

She’s holding her own _very_ well. She whirls around, deftly smacking the spies upside the face with her truncheon. They crumple to the ground, groaning and clutching at their faces.

He could get used to this.

* * *

“That’s your _leader_!?” Jyn exclaims, furiously storming down the stairs, Cassian hot at her heels. “How could she _say_ that!? _Believe_ that!?”

“The Council’s decision has been made,” Cassian replies grimly. “They will not let us go to the Front.”

Jyn looks indignant, green eyes burning through him, through his people, through _everyone_. “Krennic won’t _allow_ a negotiation or a surrender – those millions of people you talked about, they will die!”

Cassian looks at her, and the warm look in his eyes throws Jyn off guard.

“I know,” he replies, taking her hand in his. “That’s why _we’re_ going to Scarif.”

* * *

They find Bodhi hunched over a glass of something pungent, the kind of drink Eadu’s brewery was known for.

“Easy on him,” Cassian murmurs. “He’s a defector. They didn’t treat him well.”

“The Powers he worked for?”

Cassian sighs. “No, the Allies. They squeezed the information out of him when they didn’t need to, and he broke.”

“I can hear you, love,” Bodhi turns, swaying, the glass gripped firmly in his hand. “They may have messed with my brain but not my _ears,_ Captain.” His free hand quivers, and then he crumples to the floor.

Jyn stares.

“You know,” Cassian adds thoughtfully, “he’s living proof not all of the enemy are evil.” He pulls Bodhi to his feet, the latter who miraculously avoided spilling his drink, and leans him against the chair, murmuring something into his ear. Bodhi grins and pecks him on the cheek.

Jyn clears her throat. “All the more reason to fight, then.”

* * *

Chirrut finds them first.

“Ah, little sister, will you give me your necklace for a glimpse into your future?”

Jyn stares at him. “How did you know I was wearing a necklace?” It was tucked safely into her shirt, hidden under her jacket.

Cassian smirks. “Chirrut fancies himself to be a seer of some sort.”

“I do see things that no one else does,” Chirrut grins, and taps his temple. “Do not mistake blindness for a lack of sight.”

They continue the discussion in French, and German, and Chinese. He loses her at Ancient Greek.

“What does that mean?” she asks.

“ _The strongest stars have hearts of kyber_.” Chirrut smiles, an eerie force tugging at the corners of his lips. “And you burn bright, my dear.”

* * *

Mon Mothma finds them all seated in the corner booth.

“I’m not one for violence,” she begins and Jyn is suddenly reminded of her mother. “But I’m not one for inaction either. Let’s keep this mission under the table.”

She hands Cassian a packet. He cracks it open and Jyn sneaks a peek. It’s full of bills.

“Thank you,” Cassian says.

Mon Mothma inclines her head. “Be safe. Be victorious.”

* * *

They follow Baze’s path through the woods and set up camp.

“So you’re a smuggler, a hired killer,” Jyn says, looking pointedly at the rifle slung across Baze’s shoulder. “Why? Why not join the noble fight?”

“I’d rather be free. And I cannot be free at home.”

“What happened?”

Baze sighs. “They stripped our land for resources. They tore down our temples. They ripped our culture away from our people. And I couldn’t bear to stay and pick through the remains.”

“Who?”

“Both of them. Both of their sides, the people the Captain works for and the people he’s fighting.” His eyes flicker to Chirrut, fast asleep. “He and I are from the same people,” he adds, fondly. “He chose to make a living out of scraps, and advise people like the Captain on the side. I chose to live a free life in the woods, and only get my jobs from the people I can trust.”

“Like Cassian.”

Baze nods. “Chirrut trusts him.”

The two of them return to staring at the flames, the glow of the fire warm on Jyn’s face.

* * *

“No-no,” Bodhi whimpers. “NO!”

“Bodhi!” Jyn leaps to his side. “Bodhi, Bodhi, wake up. It’s alright, you’re safe.” She grips him by the shoulders and shakes him awake.

He wakes up with a start, leaping up and lunging for his rifle.

“I’m fine!” he yells defensively, tugging at his pilot’s goggles. “Just-” his voice breaks off in a sob. “Leave me.”

He bounds off into the forest.

Jyn’s eyes meet Cassian’s, filled with sorrow.

‘It’s okay,’ he mouths at her. ‘He’ll be alright.’


	2. burning bright...

The trenches are dreary and disgusting, not much different from the war itself.

“Welcome to the Front, Jyn. You asked to see the war, well, here it is,” Cassian offers grimly.

Jyn finds herself stumbling through the horrors, tugging her coat around her, and the stench of death makes her realize why her mother spent so long shielding her from war.

A woman catches her eye. She’s lamenting in French, a bundle of cloth writhing in her arms. Yet soldiers hurry by, impassive, seemingly deaf to her cries. Jyn approaches her and the woman’s eyes widen when she spots her.

“ _They’ve taken over our village! They’ve killed all the men and ruined all the women. They don’t even feel pity for the children!”_

With each word, the fire in Jyn’s heart burns brighter.

* * *

Lyra looks up at the sky, empty as ever, and wonders if she should have told Jyn the truth.

She prays.

* * *

Jyn catches up to Cassian, long strides taking her through the cramped quarters of the trenches. She touches his shoulder and he turns.

“We need to go free that village,” she tells him.

Cassian raises an eyebrow. “We can’t, we don’t have time. And that’s No Man’s Land. They’ve gained, what, an _inch_ over the past year? It’s hopeless.” He tilts his head. “Come on now, we need to find out where they’re building that weapon. We need to get to Krennic and the Doctor before it’s too late!”

Jyn stares at him blankly. “We _need_ to help these people,” she snarls, hands curling into fists.

Cassian leans into her face, eyes wide with what seems like anger. “We can’t save everyone in this war,” he hisses back.

“How can you _say_ that! What is the _matter_ with you!” Jyn’s voice shakes with passion, her expression twisted by anger and confusion.

“They’re not the only ones who’ve lost everything,” Cassian’s voice is steely, measured, his earlier anger gone. Jyn finds this cooler version of him more terrifying. “We don’t all have the luxury of deciding when and where we want to care about something.”

She just stares at him, but her hands uncurl.

He sighs, shoulders slumping. “We didn’t come here to save everyone we come across, Jyn. We can’t. We can only try to live long enough to see that this superweapon is destroyed, and that they can never build another one.”

She can feel the presence of people gathering behind her.

“She wants to fight,” Chirrut notes, face turned to Jyn.

“We all do,” Bodhi adds earnestly. 

Cassian just shakes his head. “If you thought _this_ was a suicide mission, trying to cross No Man’s Land is a death warrant. This is not what we came to do.”

“Saving everyone may not be what _you_ came to do, _Captain_ ,” Jyn says, stepping forward, “but it’s what _I_ came to do.” She turns on her heel and pushes past the others.

Cassian sighs and buries his face in his hands.

“I just want her to be safe.”

He feels a hand on his shoulder and he looks up.

“I know what you mean, Captain,” Baze says. “But the girl seems capable. Let’s follow her lead.”

Cassian bites his lip, and turns back to the battlefield only to see Jyn vaulting herself over the last step of the ladder, her coat a crumpled pile on the ground.

“Jyn, _no_!”

His heart lurches and his lungs squeeze all the breath out of his body.

But she is okay.

Baze’s grip on him tightens. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Shoot him, Bodhi!”

Bodhi presses an eye to the scope, but his hands are shaking too hard, from want of alcohol or something more sinister. He licks his lips and tries again.

“Bodhi!”

The figure swims in and out of his vision. He snarls, finger hovering over the trigger.

He jerks away from the scope, anguish written all over his face. “I can’t!”

“You can’t?” Cassian asks gently, more concerned than angry. Bodhi shakes his head.

“I can’t,” Bodhi mumbles, defeated. “I can’t.”

“Okay.” Cassian touches his back. “We’ll figure something out.”

Bodhi shakes his head, disgusted with himself.  Cassian squeezes his shoulder gently as he leans into the crossfire.

“There, see that piece of metal? I’m going to run and grab it. Baze, Chirrut, clear my path.”

They run.

* * *

The village is free.

Couples sway together to the music, children run around the courtyard long past their bedtimes. A glow comes from the open doors of the small café, where the smell of food and the sound of clinking glasses waft out the door, soon joined by a melody tapped out on the piano and –

“Is Bodhi _singing_?” Jyn grins.

Cassian nods, smiling. “Yeah. He’s got quite the singing voice.” He pauses, lifting his steaming mug of coca to his lips. “I haven’t heard him sing in years.”

“Is this what it’s like, then, in a world without war?” Jyn asks, fingers curling around her mug.

Cassian avoids her gaze, choosing instead to watch the dancers twirl around the square with ease. “I wouldn’t know,” he says softly. “But I think so.”

They sit silently, empty mugs cooling in their hands.

“Do you know how to dance?” Cassian ventures.

Jyn grins. “Of course. But not whatever,” she gestures wildly, “these people are doing.”

Cassian fakes a frown. “What? Let me show you!” He hesitates. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Jyn turns to him and a smile slowly spreads across her face.

Emboldened, Cassian offers her his hand.

* * *

“You’re so close,” Jyn breathes. She watches the light from the streetlamps fall across his features, catching in his eyelashes and casting shadows on his face. He was close enough she could feel his body heat warming hers, but far enough they barely grazed past each other.

“I think that’s the point,” he murmurs, grip tightening on her waist.

Suddenly, white flakes start falling from the sky, lazily swirling down and settling in her hair. She looks up in amazement, the cold _something_ tugging the corners of her mouth into a broad and confused smile.

Cassian grins at the wondrous expression on Jyn’s face. “It’s snow.”

“It’s beautiful,” Jyn gasps, face still turned to the sky.

“Yeah,” Cassian murmurs, eyes never straying from Jyn’s face. “It is.”  

* * *

He slips away eventually, after Jyn decides she’s had enough of the cold and perches herself at a chair, watching Bodhi sing his heart out at the piano.

The dial turns to the right frequency with a barely audible click and a voice crackles over the radio, breaking through the ambient sounds of the revelry in the distance.

“Make sure the Director remains unharmed,” Draven’s voice echoes in his ears. “So far he has never shown us his face. This negotiation is our only hope and only chance for an end to the conflict. Do _not_ let that girl get to him.”

“And the Doctor?”

“Kill him.”

“Understood.”


	3. filled with love...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU was supposed to be 2 chapters long.

“Welcome… to Scarif,” Bodhi announces dramatically, spreading his arms in the fresh air. “The best place for a German to retire.”

“Or throw a lavish gala, it seems,” Jyn says, crouched in the bushes. “What are they even celebrating?”

“The end of the war,” Cassian mutters. “As if. Not with that superweapon in their possession.”

The four of them stay hidden in the foliage, watching guests slowly enter the castle after being waved in by security guards.

They’re pleasantly surprised to see Baze roll up in a car.

“Where did you get _that_!” Chirrut exclaims, having heard the wheels grating on gravel and Bodhi’s surprised gasp.

“There’s a parking lot _full_ of them,” Baze grins.

Cassian studies the car closely, running his hand over the edge of the windows. “Perfect.”  

“I’m going in,” Jyn suddenly stands up.

“No, Jyn. You’ll stand out. I’ll go.” Cassian’s turns sour at the thought of becoming a German once again. There’s a fleeting look on his face, as if one had taken bitter medicine. Jyn catches it before it disappears under his mask of calm and suddenly she realizes how much the spy work had taken a toll on him.

“No, I’ll go.”

“Jyn, you have no idea how the Germans work, or have any semblance of modern party etiquette. I’ll go.” Cassian starts unzipping his jacket, revealing a German uniform he had taken from the liberated village.

“You need someone to drive you,” Jyn insists.

“I can do that,” Chirrut perks up.

“Chirrut, you’re _blind_.” Jyn has a feeling this wasn’t the first time Baze had to say so.

Bodhi clears his throat, gaze fixed on the row of cars. “I-I’ll go. I know-I know how they work. And… they won’t suspect a thing. I can play the servant,” he offers, voice steadier and back straighter than when he began to speak.

Cassian looks at him, concerned. “Can you do it?” It was a question not of his abilities, but of his memories.

Bodhi turns to look at Cassian, and they hold each other’s gaze. “Yes. I can.”

Cassian nods. “Okay. Okay,” he repeats, louder. “We’re going. You three, stay put.”

“Got it.”

Jyn grumbles with discontent but returns to her spot behind the bushes.

Cassian and Bodhi exchanged one more look with each other before they drive off.

* * *

Cassian fiddles with the pipe in his mouth while absent-mindedly tugging at the edges of his jacket to smooth out the wrinkles from yanking it off its dead owner.

“You love her, don’t you,” Bodhi says softy.

Cassian half chokes and almost drops the pipe. “What?”

Bodhi keeps his eyes fixed straight ahead at the car in front of them. “Jyn. I see it in your eyes.” He licks his lips, hands running over the steering wheel. “I see it in her eyes, too.”

Cassian turns to stare out the side window, the sound of some woman bickering with her driver filling the cool air. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe if we have more time, if we do this right… you’ll have time to figure it out.” Bodhi smiles a scornful sort of smile and something turns in Cassian’s stomach.

“You’re not… _jealous_ are you?” His voice is concerned, not accusatory.

Bodhi tears his gaze away and looks in the rearview mirror. “What we had was something forged between two men broken by war looking a distraction from the aftermath. What you two have is love and equal admiration. Don’t get the two mixed up.”

The car in front of them moves forward, and they move on together.

* * *

“I hope they make it,” Baze muses.

“They will, don’t worry. It’s Jyn that’s I’m worried about,” Chirrut replies, a mischievous smile on his face.

“Jyn?” Baze’s eyebrows furrow. “She’s right behind-” Baze turns around to see the bushes unmistakably empty. “Oh… no.”

Chirrut laughs. “I thought I was the blind one, Baze.”

* * *

Bodhi starts to babble. “Oh, oh my goodness, I cannot believe, forgive me my master, I have, I think, I misplaced the invitation, oh, oh my, it is not my master’s fault it is entirely my own, oh, forgive me, I implore you-”

“You lost _what_!” Cassian barks, the humane and rational part of him that cringes at this entire dynamic buried under several layers of accent and years of spy work.

“Oh, oh I’m so sorry, please, punish me if you will, but this has nothing to do-“

“Please, go on ahead,” the guard sighs, wide eyed.

“Ohhh, thank you dear sir, thanl-“

“Would you hurry up!” someone barks from behind them.

Bodhi takes the wheel, still thanking the guard, and they make it in.

He sighs with relief, grinning, and glances into the rearview mirror. “Your pipe, Captain.”

Cassian looks down at his pipe, twisted out of position. “Oh. Thanks.”

* * *

Cassian spots the man immediately, face partially hidden by a mask, the remaining skin riddled with worry lines and stubble. He takes a moment to nab two glasses of wine, using the reprieve to steady his resolve, and then carefully approaches the fragile looking man staring into the fireplace.

“Care for a drink?” Cassian lifts one of the glasses in the man’s direction. Movement catches his eye – he spots Director Krennic in a crowd of people. But Cassian returns to the task at hand.

The man doesn’t look up from the flames. “I don’t drink.”

“I see.” Cassian sets one glass down and takes a meager sip from the other. “I suppose alcohol wouldn’t seem beneficial to someone of your great intellect.”

This draws a reaction and the man turns to Cassian. “What do you mean?”

“It is my pleasure to meet you, Doctor Erso,” Cassian presses a hand to his chest. “I’m a devout admirer of your work.”

* * *

Jyn tugs at her dress one more time, once again wondering how people managed to walk around in these things, before charging into the thick of the party. She spots Cassian talking to some stranger whose face she couldn’t see nor cared to see: her entire focus is with the man at the center of attention, dressed head to toe in white with a haughty expression on his face.

This, it seems, is Director Krennic.

He needed to die. He dies, the war ends. People will be set free.

Jyn pushes her way through the crowd, and soon they even begin to part for the girl in the flowing blue gown, fabric circling around her heels as she pointedly strides towards the Director.

Someone murmurs something and he turns to face her. Jyn’s hands twitch up –

and he catches them in his gloved hands.

“Lovely little one, aren’t you,” he murmurs into her ear. “Enjoying the evening?”

“I’m… not quite sure what the celebration is for,” she whispers back. “Sir.”

“My-our imminent victory, and the end of the war, my dear,” he smiles viciously and Jyn fights back the need to recoil from his pointed grin. “Now, if you excuse me,” he bows. “I hope you enjoy the fireworks.”

He disappears into the crowd, as quickly as he came, and Jyn stands alone, stunned.

She’s about to lunge again when Cassian steps in out of nowhere, encircling her in an abrupt move more intense than the courtyard the night before.

“What are you _doing_ , Jyn?” he hisses over her shoulder.

“I need- to kill – him,” she bites back. “Why are you stopping me?”

“You can’t do it _here,_ there’s too many people.” Cassian twirls her around and dips her gently, the silky blue cloth catching in his hands. “And we still haven’t figured out where the superweapon is.” He spares a glance in the Doctor’s direction, but he has disappeared. He pulls Jyn back up. “We don’t have time for-”

There’s a loud boom, and cheers erupt through the crowd.

They freeze, stuck together by shock.

“The superweapon,” Cassian whispers, horrified.

“The village.” Jyn’s eyes go wide. “The village!” she repeats, louder, and bolts out of the party. “We need to save the village!!”

“Jyn, wait!” Cassian watches her disappearing figure with dismay, sighs, and follows her out.

 

 


	4. ... snuffed out by the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story become its own thing and slightly deviates from both plots, SPOILERY (yes, spoilers, bc I mess up the plot that badly) explanation in the end notes.

Destruction.

That is all Jyn can see for miles. A cloud of acrid ash and smoke encompasses the entire village. She tries to approach the village but the smoke sets of a fit of coughing and sputtering. So she stands at the edge, where life meets death.

People who had been joyfully dancing away the night prior, who had finally eaten a breakfast as a free people – all dead. The kind old man who had handed her and Cassian mugs of hot coca. The little girls who had ran circles around them as they danced in the square. The woman who had graciously given them a place to stay for the night.

All gone, all dead.

In her hysterics Jyn doesn’t hear Cassian running up from behind and it takes her a moment to register the feeling of his arms around her.

“We could’ve saved them!”

Cassian struggles with her, coughing as he pulls her away from the smoke. “I know. I know. But they’re gone now. We need to-”

“They’re all dead. We could’ve – you should’ve _let me kill him_!”  Jyn twists in his grip, turning around to face him. “You should’ve let me kill him! I could’ve ended this then!”

“You couldn’t, not there – Jyn!” Jyn shoves Cassian away, and he stumbles back. “Jyn, listen. Please.”

Jyn stops and turns to stare at him, panting from sheer exertion. He’s taken aback by the fury and anguish on her face, but continues. “Jyn. You’re in shock. Please. Killing him there wouldn’t have changed anything, they still would’ve gone ahead with the attack. We need to go – we need to find where this superweapon is, and destroy it so _nobody_ can ever use it again. So these people will be the first and last people to die by it. Do you understand me?”

He waits, hoping.

Jyn swallows, the bitter taste of smoke still clinging to her tongue. “I understand.”

* * *

Chirrut’s clenches Baze’s forearm.

“What is it?” Baze asks, alarmed. Bodhi looks up from where he’s gathering dry wood for the smoke signal.

Chirrut doesn’t say anything.

“Chirrut?” Baze asks softly.

“I see Death.”

Bodhi’s eyebrows shoot up. “What does he mean?” Baze just shakes his head and presses a finger to his lips.

“There will be lots of death today.”

“Will we succeed? Will the mission succeed – Chirrut, tell me before the vision disappears.”

Chirrut’s face contorts with the effort. “The weapon will be destroyed.”

“So our mission will succeed?”

Chirrut doesn’t reply. His eyes flutter shut and he collapses. Baze moves to catch him in time and he falls into his arms.

The older man glances at Bodhi. “Keep building that bonfire. We need to take every chance we get.”

* * *

They spot the trio jumping and waving from the bonfire.

“I told you they’d find a way,” Cassian offers Jyn a tight-lipped smile. She merely nods.

“You go find the Doctor and the superweapon. I’ll deal with Krennic.”

Cassian nods, then hesitates. Jyn tilts her head at the troubled expression on his face. “What?”

He shakes his head, merely leans in and whispers, “be safe. Be victorious,” before heading off. 

* * *

As if the weather, or perhaps the god of thunder himself, had felt the gravity of the situation, the sky began to swirl darkly, hinting at the impending storm to come. Jyn bounds over the hill and makes her way through the compound, her gaze fixed on the figure in white.

A destructive force of nature herself, nothing stood between her and the Director. She soon found herself staring through the glass pane of a door, directly at the architect of humanity’s worst creation.

Malice and destruction.

She kicks the door open. Krennic whips around to look at her.

“You- who are you?”

Jyn doesn’t say a word, only reaches out and kicks him into the wall. The wood splinters on impact and Krennic groans, ripping off his gloves.

There is a flash of lightning, and thunder shakes the small tower.

Jyn swipes at her mouth and shifts into a defensive position as Krennic lifts his pistol at her.

The final battle begins.

* * *

Cassian runs, flanked by Baze, Bodhi, and a now-recovered Chirrut on either side.

“Do you see that plane? What are they loading into it?”

Bodhi shoves his ever-present goggles onto his forehead and peers into the scope of his rifle. “Cans of… something.”

“The superweapon,” Baze notes grimly. “They’re taking it somewhere.”

“To London,” Cassian murmurs. “We need to stop it.”

“How?”

“We’ll think of something. Keep an eye on them, I need to-”

There’s another flash of lighting and Cassian glances towards the tower. The bright flash of light illuminates two silhouettes fighting on the rooftop.

“I need to see if Jyn’s okay. I’ll be back.”

He runs.

* * *

Krennic stands before her, defenseless and writhing in pain. Blood trickles down from the corner of his lip.

Jyn reaches to her side and finds Cassian’s ‘borrowed’ gun in her holster. It feels familiar in her grip as she points it at him. A rogue smile tugs at her face.

“I am Jyn Erso, Daughter of Lyra Erso. You’ve lost,” she spits out in defiance, “in the name of all that is good, your wrath upon the world is over.”

She aims, fires.

* * *

Cassian sprints to the tower and bursts into the control room. A quick once-over shows signs of a struggle. He glimpses a map with London circled in bright red ink. But where are Jyn and Krennic?

“Jyn?”

He hears a set of bangs coming from above, and a blur falls past the window.

His heart leaps into his throat. “Jyn? Jyn!” He scrambles up the stairs, his hand gripping his gun tightly.

_Let her be okay._

* * *

Krennic falls back, desperately clutching at his chest. A dark red stain blossoms across his white uniform like a lethal flower. He stumbles, trips, and falls off the roof.

Dead.

Jyn looks up at the sky. Thunder clouds still roll tumultuously, flashes of lightning striking the ground and illuminating the base for all to see.

Nothing changes.

Her face contorts in confusion.

 _Absolutely nothing_ changes.

Her gun clatters to the ground, skittering across the metal rooftop. She collapses to her knees, still gazing at the sky.

It’s how Cassian finds her. He stops at the top of the steps to catch his breath, looking like he’d been expecting an apocalypse with his hair strewn about and clothes in disarray.

“Jyn?”

She turns, eyes rimmed with red. “I though killing him would stop everything.”

Cassian crouches down beside her. “I know.”

“It didn’t. It should have.” She looks around, watching the base buzz with activity as they loaded the plane with trays and trays of canisters. “They haven’t stopped. They’re still…” she struggles to form the words and Cassian fights back the need to pull her into a hug. “They’re still evil.”

“Maybe some people are naturally evil,” Cassian suggests.

“I thought humans were naturally _good._ ” Jyn shifts to look at him and they’re as close as they were the night before in the square. “I guess I was wrong. My mom was right.”

“Maybe we’re both,” Cassian murmurs and something glints in his eyes. Jyn watches his face jerk towards the hangar. “They’re loading the plane. We have to go.”

“I-I don’t. I don’t think I can help.”

Cassian whips around. “What?”

“I don’t. Maybe you people don’t deserve my help. My mom was right.” Jyn pushes herself away, shaking her head. “I should’ve just kept my head down. Not bothered to look up at that flag in the sky.”

Cassian watches her with dismay. What had happened to the girl who wanted to fight? To help? To save people when even he didn’t?

“Jyn?”

“You go,” she shakes her head, touching his shoulder lightly. “You go. I will not follow.”

His eyes dart between her and the plane.

He leaves.

* * *

Jyn sits alone on the rooftop, hugging her knees close as she watches Cassian sprint towards the others. There’s a clap of thunder and then rain starts pouring. Rivulets of water run down her forehead, her arms, her legs, washing her free of the grime of battle.

“Given up so soon?”

She furrows her eyebrows at the sound of boots splashing in the puddles of water forming on the roof. They stop in front of her and she lifts her gaze from their feet.

“You’re…” she strains to recognize the man. His face is vaguely familiar – had she seen him in the Council meeting? There’s something else that tugs at her memory. She slowly rises to face him.

“Cassian knows me as his superior… General Draven.”

Jyn shakes her head. “No… no I know you from somewhere else. You-” Her eyes go wide and her hands go up into a protective stance.  “You killed my father.”

Draven’s mouth twists into something resembling a smile. “Oh, if only that were true.”

* * *

“I have a plan.” Cassian looks up from Bodhi’s scope, face set.

“Those explosives, they’re set to go off. Anything in a 50 kilometer radius will be destroyed,” Bodhi says. “How are we going to disarm it?”

“We aren’t.” Chirrut grabs Cassian’s shoulder and he covers it with his hand. “I know what you’re about to say-”

“No,” Chirrut interjects. “You don’t.” His fingers curl into Cassian’s jacket. “Don’t let Jyn’s reluctance bother you. Your path is different from hers. She’ll come around – you go.”

Cassian stares at him, his gaze melting from confusion to acceptance. “Okay.” His stance shifts, stiffening and ready for battle. Bodhi is suddenly reminded why this man is a captain and master spy. “Here’s the plan.”

* * *

Lightning strikes and it flashes brightly behind Draven’s leering figure. Jyn wipes at the rain in her eyes. She draws her hand away from her face and it is stained red.

“You were right, you know. These humans don’t deserve you. They’re all evil. All I gave them were ideas – they put them to use themselves. A whisper here, a whisper there. They’re terrible creatures.”  He grins. “Join me, Jyn. We can rid the world of this human disease and restore peace and beauty to this planet.”

Jyn shakes her head, her eyes flitting to her borrowed gun lying in a puddle behind Draven.

“Fine then. Die.” Draven kicks her off the tower.

She falls, and falls, and falls.

* * *

Cassian swims into her vision, a lone face in the darkness, mouthing something.

“What?” She groans, clutching her temple.

Cassian pulls her up, clearly in a hurry.

“What are you saying?” She can’t hear him, not over the rain and the thunder and the ringing in her ears.

He looks pained, but his grip on her is tight with determination.

“I-I don’t understand.”

Cassian lips twitch, and he presses his hand into hers before running off.

She watches him go. He doesn’t look back.

* * *

Jyn stands, rather shakily, as she watches Draven descend from the tower to face her.

“I’ll give you one more chance, Jyn.”

She shakes her head, backing away but not fast enough. Her eyes go wide as she spots the tower beginning to fall. Jyn sidesteps out to the side but a stray post catches her under it as it falls.

It knocks the wind out of her and she’s pinned under the post, groaning.

“Cracked a rib, there?” Draven steps closer and stands by her head. “I’ll help you up if you promise me something.”

She stares at his looming figure and he offers her a hand.

* * *

Cassian tugs on the soldier’s clothing and carefully makes his way past the guards. He sneaks into the cockpit and with one strong whack the actual pilot crumples to the ground.

The pistol at his side weighs him down as he sinks into the pilot’s seat, fingers moving deftly over the controls as the airplane takes off.

He spares a glance behind him, at the rows and rows of canisters, and takes a deep breath.

Through the window, all the people and buildings turn to specks soon hidden under layers of swirling storm clouds. Cassian closes his eyes, calls their faces to his mind. The children in the village. Bodhi. Baze. Chirrut.

And of course, Jyn.

He exhales, pulls the trigger, and shakily smiles.

* * *

The explosion in the air is brighter than any flash of lightning and any boom of thunder. Jyn winces away from the burst of light and the roar that follows.

The realization hits her as fragments pelt down from the sky.

“No,” she whispers. “NO!”

* * *

Cassian swims into her vision. “Get up, Jyn. I know you can do it. Jyn? Jyn? Are you with me?  I’m- I’m going to fly the plane out of here.”

“What?” Jyn groans, clutching her temple.

Cassian pulls her up, eyes flitting over to the plane pulling out of the hangar. “The plane, it’s the superweapon. If that thing explodes, it’s going to kill millions of people. So I’m going to fly it up out of here, high enough that everyone on the ground will be safe,” he takes a shaky breath. “It’s going to kill me, but I think it’s a good enough appeasement for the things I’ve done in the name of duty.” He offers her a small smile. “You were always right. Humanity is worth saving. It’s not about what we deserve, it’s about what we believe.” 

“What are you saying?” She can’t hear him, not over the rain and the thunder and the ringing in her ears.

He fights back the urge to stay, but maintains his grip on her. “I can save the day. You,” his eyes shift to Draven, making his way down the stairs, “can save the world. Don’t let him get away.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

Cassian lips twitch with sadness. “I wish we had more time. I love you.” He presses his hand into hers and runs off, not daring to look back.

* * *

With a hoarse and ragged cry of rage, Jyn lifts the post off her.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? The anger at the injustice of humanity? It kills the good men,” Draven’s eyes shift to the burning spot in the sky, “and it lets the villains be.” He juts his chin out. “Like that one.”

Jyn turns, body aching from the broken bones, and spots a man sprawled out on the ground behind her. The rain pelts his body.

“That’s the Doctor. He’s the one behind the superweapon. He designed it, built it, everything.” Draven sneers. “Kill him and the world will become a better place.”

Jyn’s eyes flicker between the Doctor and Draven, and she entertains the idea of throwing the post down on the man in the puddle.

“Do it.”

Her heart burns, whether from her injuries or the pain of loss. Cassian’s death hurts her, hurts her deeply, but – she tosses the post aside and it splashes in the water.

“No,” she says, flecks of blood in her smile. “You said humanity doesn’t deserve me, our sacrifices, it doesn’t deserve to be helped. But it’s not about what we deserve,” she pauses to cough, and blood starts dripping from the side of her mouth. She waves her hand wildly and grabs the broken edge of the tower for support. She spots Bodhi, Baze, and Chirrut hiding behind a pile of boxes, picking the last of the enemy off with their rifles. She sees Cassian in her mind’s eye, willing to sacrifice his life in the hope that the war would end, in the belief of a better future for humanity.

She grins viciously. “It’s about what you believe in. And I believe in love.”

“So be it!” Draven roars, pulling out his gun. “I thought you could finish him off,” he kicks the Doctor and he rolls onto his back, groaning in pain. The mask falls off his face, skittering across the ground and landing in a puddle.

It’s her father.

“Jyn?”

Draven aims.

“No!”

She cries out and tackles Draven. The bullet catches her in the shoulder.

They tumble – soar really – and crash at the entrance of the plane hangar. Jyn looks up frantically, her vision going dark from the brutal landing. She didn’t have much time.

 _There_. She spots a stray canister, presumably had fallen off the racks in the commotion. But…

She looks around again, rolling away from Draven, despite her protesting body. She spots the controls to the hangar door on a panel across the room. An idea blossoms in her mind.

“Bodhi!” she shouts frantically, grasping at an unconscious Draven’s coat and straining as she drags him into the hangar with her. “Baze! Shoot the panel and run!”

* * *

Chirrut hears Jyn calling and sets a hand on Baze’s back.

“Shoot the panel.”

“But that’ll trap them both in there!”

“She knows. Do it.”

Baze lifts his rifle up, aims, and fires.

* * *

Jyn lunges and grabs the canister right as the panel explodes in a shower of sparks. Draven groans, woken by the screeching of the door sliding shut, and sits up.

“I am Jyn Erso, Daughter of Galen and Lyra. You’ve lost,” she spits in his face, thumb running over the detonator. “In the name of all that is good, your wrath upon the world is over.”

She presses the button, and the world burns away.

* * *

They’re an odd trio, Bodhi, Baze, and Chirrut: a veteran, a displaced minority, and a blind person, but they don’t draw any second glances as they make their way through the thick masses of celebrating crowds.

“What were the chances of that detonator being there, huh?” Bodhi muses.

“It’s not what chance, but what choice. She decided to use it. If she hadn’t decided to sacrifice herself its presence would’ve been useless,” Chirrut states simply.

“We’re all just the choices we make, aren’t we,” Baze says, pulling Chirrut a little closer. He smiles up at him.

“Sounds about right,” Bodhi murmurs as they stop in front of the wall of photos. “And they chose love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a long time debating whether to kill Jyn (and the rest of the crew) or not, I decided to just kill Jyn in order to keep with the themes of R1 (hence why I never hinted at her having powers or anything earlier on just in case).  
> Draven is the most OOC obviously he's not that evil - in the R1 canon he's just doing his job imo but I know nobody likes him so I made him the main villain (yay not Mon or Galen - I was thinking about making Galen the villain for a while!).  
> The Cassian/Bodhi thing I hinted at kind of randomly happened bc Bodhi drunkenly pecks Cass on the cheek (and I do ship sniperpilot, just not when Jyn exists #rebelcaptainforlife)  
> The thing Lyra regrets not telling Jyn is that her father is alive, in this universe I imagine Lyra stayed behind, or saw Galen being taken away.  
> The hardest thing for me was translating Jyn's & Cassian's opinions over to Diana's & Steven's, because where Cass had to convince Jyn to join the cause, Diana was the one to convince Steve in people's humanity/inherent goodness. (also Jyn convinces Cass to rebel, while Steven convinces Diana everyone have both good AND bad in them.) So I tried to have a bit of both duos there.  
> Anyways, this was supposed to be over in 2 chapters, and now it's the most I've written for a single story - even the Cassian backstory fic (which was planned, not something I wrote randomly one morning) hasnt hit this wordcount yet!  
> Thanks for reading! (psst hit kudos so I know you were here)


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